Living in Singapore When Your Currency Suddenly Flips on You

So here’s something wild that’s been on my mind lately: the exchange rate.

When I first moved to Singapore about 20 years ago, 1 SGD was sitting around 680–750 KRW. Back then, everyone back home in Korea probably thought I was doing fine but nothing crazy. Fast forward to now, and the whole thing has flipped on its head — the Singapore dollar is pushing close to 1,200 KRW.

I actually remember this happening once before, briefly, back around 2012, when it touched 1,200 for a bit. I remember it clearly because that’s when I wired $20,000 back to Korea. Funny how a number like that sticks in your memory.

On paper, a strong SGD sounds like great news, right? More buying power back home, bigger numbers when you convert. But here’s the catch nobody talks about — living here has gotten brutally expensive too. It’s not like my paycheck magically feels bigger. If anything, it feels like I’m running just to stay in place.

Prices everywhere have gone up, obviously. Even the hawker centres — the food courts that used to be the one reliable “cheap and cheerful” option — have quietly bumped everything up by 50 or 60 cents across the board. Doesn’t sound like much until you’re paying it three meals a day, every day. Honestly, I’ve started opening my wallet with a bit of dread.

And then there’s the whole visa situation. If you’re a foreigner living here solo, sure, $5,000–6,000 a month might get you by. But even that’s not an easy salary to land — Singapore ties your visa eligibility directly to your income now. The EP salary threshold has climbed a lot. These days you basically want to be in the $6,200–$10,700 range to feel safe, and if you’re over 45, they expect $11,800+ before your application is even in “comfortable” territory. And even then — who knows if MOM approves it or not. Nobody really knows the actual internal logic.

I’m here with a family of four, and honestly, some days it just feels a little insane. The one saving grace is that as a PR, about $2,800 a month goes into my CPF — except, well, that’s money I can’t actually touch or use day to day. It just sits there.

If you’re not a citizen, raising a family here is genuinely tough. You basically need to be pulling in $15,000 a month just to live an average life, not even a fancy one. That’s just… where the bar is now.

I know what some of you are thinking — “well if you’re earning that kind of money, why not just go back to Korea and live comfortably there instead?” Fair point, except finding a job in Korea that pays anywhere near that is its own nightmare. The competition is fierce, and unless you’ve got something genuinely unique going for you — a rare skill, a standout niche — it’s really hard to make that kind of money there either.

Curious how much CPF I’ve actually racked up after 20 years here? Yeah, me too, in a weird way. I think I’ll do a full breakdown in the next post and just lay it all out — the good, the bad, and the “wait, that’s it?” moments haha.

And on the bigger question of what to actually do about all this — whether to keep grinding here, or eventually move on to Korea or somewhere else entirely — that’s still very much on the table. Nothing wrong with working here for a while and then moving when the time’s right.

More on that soon.

싱가폴에서의 생활 이야기야, 지금 환율이 너무나도 많이 뛰었어 한국에 대비해서, 내가 처음 20년 전에 왔을때는 680원 750원대였어 싱가폴 1달러가, 근데 지금 그 반대로 싱가포르달러가 반전을 해서 1200원을 육박하고 있어, 내가 기억하기로는 2012년쯤에 잠깐 1200원 찍었던 적이 있었어, 그때 내가 한국으로 2만불을 송금했던게 기억이 나네, 이렇게 싱가폴 달러가 엄청 올라고 좋기는 한데, 여기 사는게 너무 빡빡해져서 그게 문제야, 당연히 여기 싱가폴 물가도 다 올랐지 엄청, 그대도 싸게 먹었던 푸드콧들 호커센터들 전부 50센트 60센트 올렸어, 이젠 지갑열기기 무서울정도야, 여기에 사는 외국사람들 혼자 산다면 5천 6천불이면 살겠지만, 그것도 쉽게 받는 월급은 아닌듯하고, 싱가폴은 월급을 가지고 비자를 주니 마니 하니깐,,, EP 커트라인 월급이 한참 올랐어.

6200에서 10700 사이가 안정권이고, 나이가 45세 넘으면 11800이상이 되야지 EP 신청 안정권인데, 그것도 정부가 주냐 안주냐 아무도 모르는거지. 난 4인가족으로 여기서 살고 있는데, 좀 미친것같다는 생각을 매일해, 그나마 PR 이라 매달 2800불 정도가 CPF로 들어가 근데 이건 내가 쓸수 없는돈이니 …

자국민-시티즌이 아니면 여기에서 가족이 살기는 너무 너무 힘들지. 한달에 15000불은 벌어야 잘사는것도 아니고 그냥 평수준으로 살아가는곳이 싱가폴이야!

이정도 받으면서 한국에서 사는게 어떻냐고? 근데 한국에서 이정도로 벌 일을 찿는게 더 힘들지 경쟁도 더 심하고~ 특출한 아이템이 아니면 살기 힘들지. 현재까지 모은 CPF 궁금하지? 20년간 모은 ? 다음편에 CPF 설명하면서 다 까야겠다 ㅎㅎ 그리고 정말 무엇을 해야 하는지 싱가폴에서, 직장다니다가 한국이든 다른나라든 가는건 오케이~